Tulsa Hall of Fame welcomes new class of leaders as Williams points to downtown’s next chapter

Poetic passages from Edna St. Vincent Millay, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Minnie Pearl punctuated an evening that inducted new members into the Tulsa Hall of Fame with themes focused on leadership, vision and giving. The Monday night event also included remarks appearing to reference a significant downtown transformation proposal known as Project Nexus. 

This year’s class of honorees includes Ken Busby, Reuben Gant, Elliot Nelson, Rodger and Judy Randle and the late Gailard Sartain. Williams received the first Travis Award, which honors companies making a lasting impact on the city. The hall is hosted by the Museum of Tulsa History. 

Former Mayor G.T. Bynum opened the ceremony at Southern Hills Country Club showing a 1944 photo of Bill Skelly giving a toast to Waite Phillips. The moment celebrated Phillips’ donation of the Philbrook to the city.

“It’s easy for any of us when we’re going about our daily lives to not realize that there are historic figures in our midst,” Bynum said. “We know these people as our friends, our family, our neighbors, our colleagues. But the people we are honoring tonight are historic figures in the life of our city. You do not get inducted into the Tulsa Hall of Fame unless you’ve done that.”

Busby, executive director and CEO of the Route 66 Alliance, cited moments when “vision met possibility” in the city that included the 1998 Thomas Moran exhibition at the Gilcrease Museum and the 2012 opening of the Hardesty Arts Center. He previously led the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa. 

“The work of cultural stewardship isn’t solitary; it’s relational,” Busby said. “It’s about being present, truly present, with others who share your values. It’s about recognizing that the moments we create together are irreplaceable.”

With lofty eloquence and self-depreciating humor, Rabbi Marc Fitzerman introduced Gant as a hometown hero belonging among the ranks of American champions. Gant grew up in north Tulsa neighborhoods, became a professional football player and returned to the city with a vision of revitalizing the historic Greenwood District. 

“The project called Greenwood is a work in progress,” Fitzerman said. “The place where this community works out its own drama of atonement, of justice, of repentance and reconciliation. Many people have given it their best. But, even in the company of visionaries and dreamers, Reuben Gant has done more than most, more than he shared. He’s a diplomat, a persuader and a builder of consensus. He brings together position and credentials with the softer power of his calm and his character.”

Restaurateur Steve Mitchell called Nelson, the McNellie’s Group founder and CEO, a “visionary” for his launch of 10 downtown restaurants and more than 25 concepts across the city. Nelson’s company employs more than 1,000 people with benefits including free mental health support, health insurance and 401(k) retirement plans. 

“Elliot’s skills, his vision, his curiosity, his willingness to do something different out of the box —- like open a pub on an empty street in downtown Tulsa 25 years ago — sets him apart,” Mitchell said. “He has painted all four corners of this community of Tulsa with his ideas and his willingness to get out of the box.”

Rodger Randle offered a witty play on the word “fame” as he emphasized the importance of giving. 

Randle served in elected office from 1970 to 1992, first in the Oklahoma House then Oklahoma Senate, where he was elected by his peers twice as the president pro tem. In his first term as Tulsa mayor in 1988, he successfully led the effort to change the city’s charter to a mayor-council form of government. 

His wife, Judy, was an editor and writer at the Tulsa World, becoming the first woman to serve on a Tulsa daily newspaper editorial board. She served on the Tulsa City-County Library board for more than 30 years. 

“We live in a community where generosity of spirit prevails,” Randle said. “This room is full of people who express a generosity of spirit in support of the community. They do it in support of neighborhood. They do it in support of strangers that they’ve never met. And so, one of the great things that makes Tulsa so special for each of us is this spirit of community and giving that typifies us.”

Former Gov. Frank Keating reminisced about his childhood friend Sartain, who spent 20 seasons on “Hee Haw” and appeared in more than 40 movies. Keating befriended the future entertainer while attending Cascia Hall before Sartain transferred to Will Rogers High School. 

Keating described Sartain as “one of the most talented, the funniest, the most decent, the most wonderful, the most sharing and most caring person” he’s ever known. He also noted that most Tulsans remember him as Dr. Mazeppa Pompazoidi from early 1970s late-night show “The Uncanny Film Festival and Camp Meeting” also starring Gary Busey. 

Sartain died last year at age 81, and his wife, Mary Jo, accepted the award.

“People feel as if they knew Gailard, and his children and I are so glad that they feel that way,” she said. “We understand that he doesn’t belong to just us. He belongs to all of Tulsa, and we’re glad to share him.”

New to the ceremony is the Travis Award, with Williams as the inaugural honoree. It operates one of the nation’s largest natural gas networks with more than 32,000 miles of pipeline spanning 24 states. It has 1,300 local employees and 6,000 nationally. 

The award is named after Samuel and David Travis. The brothers moved to Tulsa in 1914, where they achieved wealth in the oil supply industry. 

The Travis brothers were founding members of the Congregation B’nai Emunah, building the city’s first synagogue in 1916. Three years later, they constructed matching Italian Renaissance Revival mansions on South Peoria Avenue. The Museum of Tulsa History resides in the former Samuel Travis home, and the Tulsa Garden Center is housed in David Travis’ mansion.

Williams President and CEO Chad Zamarin spoke about the company’s beginnings in 1918, then moved into his future vision for the city that includes supporting the University of Tulsa in upping its student enrollment to 10,000 by 2030. 

He also made comments alluding to a Williams-backed effort with FC Tulsa and the City of Tulsa to move the jail and social services hubs to make way for a new multi-purpose stadium and entertainment district. Its tentative title is Project Nexus, according to the Tulsa World. 

“Great cities don’t happen by accident and to stay great, each generation must do its part,” Zamarin said. “I want to invite everyone here to join in being inspired to write the next chapter in the history book of Tulsa. 

“Let’s get back to building big things in our town so families and kids flock to our state, graduate from our schools and pick Tulsa as their home. … Let’s build a soccer stadium, coupled with arts, entertainment, new businesses and a thriving and dense residential district in what today is a downtown footprint that has been stalled for too long.”

Disclosure: Rodger Randle serves on the Tulsa Flyer and Oklahoma Eagle’s board of directors. News decisions at the Tulsa Flyer are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

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